


It's a Greek Thing

by Blue_Jay



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Dysfunctional Family, F/M, Family Dynamics, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, M/M, Protective Parents, Storytelling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-14
Updated: 2013-10-14
Packaged: 2017-12-29 06:55:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1002308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_Jay/pseuds/Blue_Jay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Before the Prophecy of the Seven came to pass and their personalities went haywire, sometimes the Greek gods and goddess would take a few moments to act like normal parents. When the Romans aboard the Argo II figure this out, it causes the world's strangest culture clash.</p><p> </p><p>Or, how Aphrodite likes to shop, Poseidon knocks, Athena can be overprotective, Hephaestus spams his kids, and Persephone deserves an award.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's a Greek Thing

**Author's Note:**

> It's 12:34 in the morning, my grandma just died, I've always liked the idea of the gods showing love for their children, and a line in Jason's point of view about why he chose Camp Half-Blood over Camp Jupiter got me thinking.
> 
> Anyway, clearly fanon, though the base concept is there. I'm just exaggerating it.

The first time Jason really notices the difference in Camp Half-Blood is when he still barely remembers anything of his old life. All he knows is that he's Roman and for whatever reason, this doesn't happen back home. That it's a break in tradition and they must really like tradition.

He's with Annabeth and Piper, Leo off tinkering in the forge and refusing to be bothered, and he notices something off. "Where're the Apollo kids?" he asks, looking around and realizing he hasn't seen them all morning. "Shouldn't they be showing off at basketball by now?"

As usual, Annabeth is trying to trying to help build the ship in her own way, though Jason has a feeling even she knows Leo's got it mostly covered. From what he's managed to gather, the laptop and working in general just makes her feel better. "Huh," she answers, looking mildly surprised, "haven't seen this since Zeus sealed off Olympus. Apollo must've dragged them out on a field trip behind his father's back again. Like that ended well last time."

Piper glances at him in confusion. He shrugs. She repeats, "Field trip?"

"Yeah, you know, around the sun." Back to looking down at the laptop. Before her, Jason hadn't known a person could be addicted to technology. "He turns his chariot into a bus. Last time Will said he was teaching him how to drive - cabin leader and all that."

"The Sun God brings his children on...family outings?" Even though a lot of things here still take him by surprise for one reason or another, this one absolutely floors him, unable to get his mind around the idea of an immortal being actually spending time with his kids. 

With a nod, his friend answers, "He does it sometimes. Pops in for a surprise visit. Sort of like Aphrodite and her feel better visits." When Piper doesn't say anything right away, Annabeth looks up again. "What, your siblings haven't told you?"

Again, he and his girlfriend exchange a glance. "No," she says. "What're you talking about?"

"Oh, just wait. It'll happen eventually."

And on that cryptic note, the conversation draws to a close.

 

 

On a Tuesday maybe a month later, he finds out what "feel better visits" are. All day Piper had been in a bad mood, unwilling to explain and the reasoning went straight over his head until Connor pointed out that the rest of the girls in her cabin were all on their periods and  _oh,_ it all made sense now. He tried not to worry when he hadn't seen for about five hours solid despite Leo saying she's a big girl, she can handle some lady pains and Annabeth assuring him with absolute certainty that she was okay, but it's still a relief when she finally shows back up not long before the campfire. 

Even if she is wearing a red dress he's positive he's never seen before. 

"Mom kidnapped me," she says, eating a s'more in a red sundress like it's no big deal when she hates dresses of all kinds, "and brought me to Paris for a shopping trip."

Leo stares at her without shame, but in not in the I Want to Bang You way, which is good. More in the What the Hades Are You Talking about kind of way, which just as accurate. "I thought you hated shopping, Beauty Queen."

Her mouth turns into a frown, but Beauty Queen is still such a perfect description that it doesn't really do anything. "Don't call me that," she says, even though they both know it's futile. "Anyway, I don't know. Shopping with Aphrodite is a whole new experience. Apparently she sensed I wasn’t feeling good and decided to make it up to me. Drew says she does that every once in a way. Just, you know, the wording was a lot bitchier."

At a loss of what to say, he decides to settle with, "Well, you look amazing," because it's true. Even though she always does, and that's not just the boyfriend in him speaking. "Is this what Annabeth was talking about?"

Piper nods and goes for another s'more; she's one of the few of her siblings not on a diet. "Mom says she likes to cheer us up when she can," she tells them. "Never thought a shopping trip would make me feel better, though. We went to a cafe for lunch, too."

Again, everything about this just screams  _Wrong!_ to him and since more of his memory's coming back, he's more sure than ever that in Camp Jupiter, this doesn't happen. Gods don't just  _pop in_ to check on their kids or bring them out on day trips. Random presents don't show up at the end of campers' bunks because they're sick (Athena sent a book of brain teasers to Annabeth's little brother who wasn't feeling well) and godly parents don't send dreams with new landscaping ideas to their children when they finish a project (Demeter did this when her cabin ran out of gardening ideas). It isn't just the major gods and goddess, either - the other day Iris made the rainbow pattern paint on the beds brighter and left money for messaging offerings.

"That's really cool," he says because he still can't think of anything good. "That your mom made you feel better, I mean."

She gives him a concerned look. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he says quickly, not sure how to explain how not-normal this is and how he doesn't understand why Piper isn't making this into a bigger deal. Her mom ignored her for how long? And suddenly she's coming around for a feel good visit because her daughter’s got her period? He doesn't get it. Then he slaps on a silly smile. "Guess I'm just distracted by your new look, Piper."

When she punches him in the arm, he has to admit he deserves it. "Curfew's going to be called soon," she says, giving him a kiss and Leo a hug because she's being a lot more open lately, too. "See guys in the morning."

After she's gone, he asks his friend, "Does any of this seem weird to you?"

Leo blinks. "Dad's been sending me mechanical ideas in my sleep," he answers, "so no, not really. Why?"

"No reason," he lies, but can't help but think that in his head, his father's still stuck as  _Jupiter._

He feels left out, he realizes, and doesn't like it at all.

 

 

"Okay, so my Dad sent me this idea to create a distraction smoke screen," Leo's telling them, scribbling designs in his notebook. "We were already talking about something like that, but we weren't sure if it would work. I'm thinking chicken nuggets. Jake said hamburgers would be better. Other suggestions are -"

"How about we stick with chicken nuggets?" Jason cuts in, not wanting to hear a wide variety of food names fired off (no pun intended, of course) when dinner's not for another three hours and he's spent a whole day training with Clarisse, who's insane once she gets a weapon in her hand. Children of Ares are terrifying in a way children of Mars aren't. They're meaner, more unpredictable. Like all Greeks, they've got such a spontaneous and flexible fighting style that it's been two months and he still has trouble keeping up. 

With a shrug, Leo says, "Two for me, one for everyone else. Guess that means I've got majority vote."

Feeling left out has turned into full on jealousy. He likes this even less.

 

 

_Hey, Jup - I mean Dad - I'm not sure if you're listening, but if you are...send me a sign?_

The statue does nothing. He has nothing left on the end of his bed in the morning. Not even a nighttime visit. Because the gods aren't like this in their Roman form.

 

 

In New Rome, when Piper and everyone is distracted and he gets a moment with just him and Reyna, he's hit by a sudden need to double check and asks her if she's ever talked to her mom. 

With her eyebrows disappearing into her bangs in surprise, she answers, "No. Why? What a weird question." The look she's giving him also translates to  _that isn't very Roman, Jason Grace._

He feels like a jerk. Unexpectedly. And it hurts.

"They've all talked to their parents," he says, figuring she's the one person he can talk to about this. "Thought it was just me, but I guess it's a Greek thing."

Having any form of relationship with your godly parent is a huge break in tradition and he knows this. The gods are supposed to be almost unattainable figures you pray to at alters and wait for signs. Your liaison is supposed to be the augur. It's just how it has, how he grew up. He hadn't know there was a different way.

Now Reyna looks, well, worried. He realizes this is a really dumb decision, dumping another difference on her when they're supposed to be fighting for diplomatic unity. Before she can say anything else, Percy Jackson asks him, "So what'd you think of home?"

There are a lot of differences, but this is the one he feels like he's drowning in. 

 

 

Then he hears about possibly the weirdest one ever. And he really does mean  _ever._

"My dad came to my fifteenth birthday," Percy says, nostalgic-sounding, because somehow they got into a conversation about craziest birthdays. "My stepdad's last name is Blofis and I had to listen to him come up with puns."

Annabeth rolls her eyes. "At least now I know where you got it from."

"Hey!"

Jason's never heard from Jupiter on a birthday before and his sixteenth is coming up in two days. For the first time he wonders if Thalia's ever talked to Zeus, because he hadn't known enough at the time to ask. 

Apparently he's not the only one who's surprised, though, because Frank (who has met Mars - twice, apparently, but not in the fun present sharing ways) says, "How'd that work out? Were you at the beach or something?"

"Oh, no," Percy answers, leaning back against his chair so it's leaning on its back two legs. "He knocked on the door. I was in my apartment in Manhattan. Completely shocked my mom showing up like that."

"Percy looks exactly like him, too," Annabeth adds, munching on a bagel. "And I mean  _exactly_ like him. It's scary."

"Nico looks like his dad," he says. "And Thalia looks like Zeus. Maybe it's a Big Three thing."

 _Thalia._ "My sister looks like our dad?" he blurts out and wants to smack himself. Next to Hazel, he's the only one here who hasn't talked to his parent, he realizes. Oh, gods. 

There's a moment of awkward silence before Annabeth says, "Yeah, she does. You've got his eyes. I'm like a blonde-haired, paler version of my mom. Piper's got her mom's eyes too. Leo, sorry, but I don't know. And Hazel and Frank - sorry, don't really know with you either. Roman personalities look different."

Something about the way she says it makes him think she has firsthand knowledge, which freaks Jason out. Not one version of her mom, but two? That's a little unfair. "Anyway," he says because he's starting to get uncomfortable again and he can tell Frank and Hazel are too, "Percy, how'd that pan out?"

He shrugs. "Typically godlike, I guess," he answers. "He wasn't there very long. Gave me some vaguely helpful hint and a present that was more of a weapon. But hey, I got a hug out of it and  _that_ was weird. You should've seen Paul's face when he realized my dad - who he still doesn't know if a god, I don't think - was gone without using the front door. I lied and said he took the fire escape from my room."

So apparently Olympian parents dispense hugs now, too. At least from the looks on his original camp mates' faces, he knows he's no longer alone in his jealousy.

 

 

"You've never talked to Jupiter?"

He's never really been alone with Hazel before and he's been so glued to Piper's side lately, afraid to let her out of sight after all his nightmares of him dying, that he's surprised she managed to snap a moment. "No," he answers, shaking his head. "Not a word."

"Oh." Her voice is very small. "I thought it was just me."

"I guess it's a Greek thing," he says for the second time in under a week, "or a special case like Frank and the quest."

She takes a seat on top of their strategy table. "Was it weird in their camp?" she asks. "Everyone makes it sound like it's normal. Annabeth said that Ares brought his kids to a weapon exhibit in New York City once like it was no big deal."

"While I was there Hermes brought his cabin a bunch of Greek desserts," he tells her, running his fingers through his short hair. "Trust me, weird is anunderstatement. Piper's mom brought her on a shopping trip  _twice_ and Hephaestus kept spamming his kids with ideas for their projects."

When Hazel nods, she looks as sad as he feels. "I think Frank's jealous, too," she admits. "I mean, he met his father but it wasn't exactly a birthday party or a field trip on typical god duties. Leo said that happens sometimes."

Jason thinks about Apollo and his journey around the sun. Frank has every right and they do too. "I want to meet him," he admits, not sure if it's to himself or to her. "I don't even care if I met him as Zeus."

"You just have questions." He nods. "I know how you feel. By this point I've met other gods - just not Pluto."

"I met Juno," he says. "I met the goddess who's technically my step-mother before I met my own father."

He knows they're moping and it isn't the greatest display of behavior. She goes to say something, but from the deck he hears Leo distantly call, "Reaching destination in ten minutes, guys!" and he knows the conversation is over. Hazel says it was good talking to him and runs off to meet Frank.

 

 

Suddenly Percy and Annabeth are  _gone,_ fallen straight into Tartarus and even the Nico kid, who just escaped certain death, is in shock. They're all sitting around on the deck as the ship flies on autopilot, exhausted and powerless, when Piper says, "Do you think Poseidon's managed to pull himself together enough to tell Mrs. Jackson?"

Months earlier, when Annabeth was regaining hope that she'd see her boyfriend again, she said that Percy's dad told Mrs. Jackson personally that their son was off the radar. "I doubt it," Nico answers, voice still too thin despite all the ambrosia and nectar. "If Poseidon knew he was in Tartarus, we'd know. Same with Athena."

To Jason's understanding, the two of them were exceptionally close to their parents (or in her case, her godly one anyway) even by Greek standards. He's always been more comfortable in the air, but now he's really glad they haven't touched down because he has a feeling Nico's definition of "we'd know" is the sea trying to kill them. The others don't deserve it, but he can't help blaming himself; he can fly, he should've grabbed them before Percy let go or at least done  _something._ So much for great leader Jason Grace. Lately he's been feeling completely useless, watching others help while he gets hits to the head and lets his friends fall into the pit. 

Maybe this is why Jupiter won't talk to him. He can understand that.

 

 

Even though he knows he should shut up about it and let the poor kid have his space, he just can't seem to let it go. "Does anyone else know?" he asks, legitimately worried.

Nico shakes his head. "No one human anyway," he mumbles, folding in on himself. "My step-mom figured it out. Don't know about my dad. While Olympus was being rebuilt, she gave me this whole long lecture about how this is the Twenty-First Century and more than that I'm Greek, so it's normal. But I don't know, back in the Nineteen Thirties saying this could get you killed."

"And you can't get passed that." The kid doesn't answer, looking down. Seriously, Jason can't even imagine that. He's Roman and Romans aren't so loose when it comes to sex, but he didn't need to be in Camp Half-Blood very long to realize it doesn't matter what gender you decide to bang. Many people went for both. Besides, it's not like the myths are so BCE conventional anyway. After a moment of awkward silence, he decides he to change the subject and says, "Step-mom?"

"Persephone," Nico answers immediately. "I know, people don't...expect it. Demeter is the one who hates me. Sometimes I think Persephone forgets I'm not actually her kid, too."

 _Nico looks like his dad,_ Percy said a couple of weeks ago. Didn't he actually live in the Underworld at one point? "Well, that's kind of cool, right?" Jason says. "Pretty sure Juno - or Hera, whatever, I guess it depends - hates me and Thalia."

"Hera hates almost every demigod," the kid points out right as they reach the ship. "Uh, can promise to not -"

"Yeah, I promise," Jason cuts in, not wanting him to say it twice and make himself anymore uncomfortable. "Secret's safe with me."

Though Nico doesn't smile, there is a small look of gratitude before he disappears below deck and leaves Jason alone with his headache.

 

 

Watching anyone caught in that mix of sad and angry is unfortunate, but with Piper, it means her charmspeak can go a little out of control and it becomes downright scary. Everyone on board is feeling echoes of it, him included. Especially now, the two of them lying in bed together as she tries to make herself feel better. No Aphrodite to swoop in and save the day this time. 

It's been two days and she's finally stopped apologizing for the wind bomb, at least. "I hope I killed her," she says miserably. "Watching you get turned to ice twice was bad enough, but then she froze everyone else, too, and Zethe kept saying how he wanted to  _keep_ me."

"Well, you beat them, and we're all safe," he says and tries to pretend the Zethe comment doesn't make his skin crawl. 

Piper twists in his arms so they're facing each other. Her eyes have so many colors he's never sure which one to focus on. "She insulted my  _mom,_ " she continues. "She called her useless."

Okay, so Jason might have never spoken to his father before but this is finally something he can understand. Insulting godly parents? Yeah, that never works out well. "Kind of fitting that a half-blood kicked her ass then."

"Yeah, I guess." She makes an adorable huffing sound and scowls. "How do you call the oldest of the Olympian gods useless?"

"By being an idiot?"

After a moment of nothing saying something, she answers, "Last time I saw my mom she was Venus. She said the two sides of her weren't very different, but I don't know. She barely even looked at me."

 _It's a Greek thing._ Sounds like it's about time to change it into  _it's a Roman thing_ instead. "Besides Frank, I don't know anyone in Camp Jupiter who's met their parents," he says, admitting it finally to someone other than Hazel. "I've never talked to mine."

"Seriously?" she says. "You didn't tell me that."

He shrugs one shoulder, uncomfortable. "The gods aren't as personal in their Roman forms."

"Do you want to meet him?"

He hesitates, not sure how to answer. Does he? On one hand, of course he does - he has a thousand questions, never talked to him before, only knows what he looks like through pictures - but on the other, he's afraid he'll be disappointed too. It's not that their Greek forms seem necessarily better or anything; he just isn't used to the traditional Roman structure anymore. Even so, he says, "Yeah, I do," because he doesn't want to go his whole life with only vague ideas about what the one parent he has the chance to meet looks like.

"Well, then we'll finish this and go to Olympus," Piper says. "I'm sure that's inevitable, isn't it?"

Though he agrees, he can't stop thinking about Annabeth and Percy in Tartarus and how either he or Leo is supposed to die. 

 

 

But then it is over, all of them are miraculously alive, and they make it to the new Olympus Annabeth and her mother created. It's beautiful, and he knows close to nothing about Athena instead of Minerva, but he can tell which ideas are hers and which are her daughter's. And she's definitely the one who designed the thrones.

They're all dirty and scuffed up and all their parents are there waiting to meet them. Percy, Annabeth, and Piper are practically attacked before the discussion can even start and he catches snippets of apologies and I Was Afraid I Lost You speeches and You've Made Me So Proud. When it's over, everyone splits off into separate conversations away from each other (Athena and Poseidon put aside their differences for a little while and bring their kids back to Mrs. Jackson's place together) and he quickly finds himself alone with Jupiter. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees that Persephone must've been waiting outside because she and Hades (or at least he thinks Hades - from this distance he might be Pluto) are there with Hazel and Nico and he looks uncomfortable with the hug she's squished him into. She deserves the World's Best Olympian Step-Mother award.

"You chose Camp Half-Blood over Camp Jupiter to meet me," his father says, standing in front of him. Now that he's actually meeting him, Jason's at a loss for what to say. Again. This seems pretty typical of his life. "Now here I am."

"Why not 'til now?" he asks, though this was originally a question on the bottom of his list. "Why do all of you stay away from Camp Jupiter?"

His father puts a hand on his shoulder and answers, "Because none of you think to ask."

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I know the last line kind of sucks, but I wanted to get it out before I got back to school.
> 
>  
> 
> (I'll finish the Meg/Sam story soon, I swear!)


End file.
